§ Statement of Purpose

The View from 1776 presents a framework to understand present-day issues from the viewpoint of the colonists who fought for American independence in 1776 and wrote the Constitution in 1787. Knowing and preserving those understandings, what might be called the unwritten constitution of our nation, is vital to preserving constitutional government. Without them, the bare words of the Constitution are just a Rorschach ink-blot that politicians, educators, and judges can interpret to mean anything they wish.

"We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution is made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams, to the Officers of the First Brigade, Third Division, Massachusetts Militia, October 11, 1798.

§ Books to Read

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Monday, July 04, 2005

They Paid For Our 4th of July

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This posting is from Warren “Bones” Bonesteel, who writes the “Morning Coffee” newsletter. “Bones” was a Marine Corps Sergeant until 1983, so he can understand personally the issue of sacrifice for country.

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Sacred Honor.
By W.R. Bones
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“I shall have a great advantage over you Mr. Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body, I shall die in a few minutes, but from the lightness of your body, you’ll dance in the air for an hour or two before you’re dead.” They all laughed. Colonel Benjamin Harrison said to a much smaller co-signer of The Declaration of Independence as they signed the document that would change the world. Knowing as they signed it, that they were all dead men as of that moment. Now the Colonel was a tall man, and weighed well over two hundred pounds. Mr. Gerry was five foot tall in his shoes, and weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet.
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Lewis Morris, New York:
Estate destroyed. Family scattered.
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William Floyd, New York:
Estate destroyed. Homeless refugee for seven years. His wife died due to destitution and poverty.
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Carter Braxton, Virginia:
Shipping fleet and estate destroyed. Died in poverty.
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William Ellery, Rhode Island:
Estate destroyed.
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Thomas Heyward Jr., Edward Rutledge, and Arthur Middleton, South Carolina:
Estates destroyed and/or vandalized. One year in prison.
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Thomas Nelson Jr., Virginia:
Extremely wealthy before the war, he died in poverty, buried in an unmarked grave.
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Richard Stockton, judge, New Jersey’s supreme court:
Betrayed, beaten, starved, imprisoned for five years. Wealthy before the war, all that he owned was destroyed. He died in 1882 of health issues incurred during his imprisonment. His family lived in poverty for the rest of their lives.
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Francis Lewis, New York:
Home and property pillaged. Wife imprisoned and brutally treated. She died soon after her release.
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On and on and on it goes.
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Each man knowing full well in advance the price that they would pay for only signing their names.
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Each of these men grew up with the Bible as a teaching tool in their homes and schools. They learned the Bible as a way of life, and of learning how to live life properly. They were each of them very influential and very powerful men. They were all very well educated. Many college graduates today cannot match their education, their intelligence, their commitment to honor, or their commitment to peace. Those men held many things sacred, in such a way that many people today cannot even guess or suppose. Each of these men were conservative men. They did nothing without long and due deliberation. They considered all of the possible outcomes before engaging in any endeavor. They attempted, as individuals, and as groups to ensure peaceable living with The Crown heads of England, and of Europe, for decades prior to the moment described above.
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In the end, they took on the most powerful and tyrannical nation on earth, in a violence that they knew would soon destroy them all.
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What would you do this day, this very hour, for freedom? Would you sign your name, knowing that death would be your constant shadow? Death and disgrace for you and your family? Would you do such a thing knowing that tomorrow, or next month, or next year, that you would end up running for your life, homeless, nearly friendless, and constantly in fear that this one or that would betray you for a few extra pieces of gold? Perhaps you would not want to invite another man to be tempted to turn you over in exchange for his own safety and the safety of his family and his income?
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What would you do? Live a rich life under tyranny? Or die in poverty, a free man?
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If you have no honor, you will live in tyranny. If you hold nothing sacred, you are no man. You are an animal instead. If you have nothing of value in your life but what you hold in your hands, you are indeed a poverty stricken fellow. Do you know why you believe what you believe today? Or do you only parrot what others whisper into your ear? What do you hold sacred? Do you even know what the word means? Where is your honor? Do you know what honor really and truly is? Those men knew what they did and exactly why they did it. They met their fates as men. What will be your fate? Or mine?
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The Tories - Peace at any price. Keep the good times rollin’. No matter what the Crown took from them. No matter how many of their fellows were killed outright. No matter whose women were raped. No matter who disappeared into the night, never to be seen again. No matter how illogical the laws. No matter how many churches were closed or burned. No matter how corrupt the judges, the soldiers, the merchants, or their children. They locked the doors at night and told themselves, and each other, that such things would never happen to them. While men of sacred honor fought, died, and suffered, that they might all be free.
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John Hancock’s large signature was meant as sly comeuppance to the King. The King, you see, was rather short-sighted for a man of royalty and leadership. He was physically near-sighted as well.
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Read the Declaration of Independence again. There is much more going on there than one might think.
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It’s a new day, folks. We’ve got another chance to get it right. We’ve got another opportunity to get things all sorted out. Make sure ya take advantage of it.
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Warren R. Bonesteel
Sgt USMC 1976-1983

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Morning Coffee

Freedom, morality, ethics, and tyranny.
By W.R. Bones
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Mornin’ folks! How the hell are ya this mornin’ anyways? Did ya get over the last couple of days of visitin’ over coffee with me yet? Well, too bad! I ain’t done yet, don’t ya know. Coffee’s on, and it’s good, and it’s real hot this mornin?. Ya best grab a cup and get some! Paper’ll be along directly, I imagine. I always gots first dibs onna funny pages! How many times I gotta tell ya that anyways?
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Now, I left out alla the greetin’s and what all the last couple days, ‘cause I wanted to get yer attention. Folks been visitin’ around here fer a spell know I understand all about bein’ comfortable and gettin’ into habits. There is such a thing as good habits ya know. Complacency not bein’ one of ‘em. So I changed up the last couple days just to get inside yer comfort zone, and get ya ta think some. Sometimes ya gotta get folks attention ‘fore ya can reason with ‘em. That’s why I keep a two by four handy.
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There’s a few things more I wanta visit over, from that wore out old piece of parchment, that alla those folks signed some two hunerd and twenty-eight years ago. Here’s one of ‘em:
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“A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”
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Now I used that quote fer a reason, The reason bein’ the last two words of it. Well, if yer a English major, if ya break that sentence down some, it goes somethin’ like this; “to be the ruler” and “of a free people.” Two different and wildly diverse subjects there in those sentence fragments. You English majors keep alla that shop talk to yourselves here. I’m tryin’ to keep this simple. Gerunds and such, I’m a tellin’ ya. Anyways, I see an assumption that was made by the Foundin’ Fathers. The assumption bein’ that all men are free. Now. The first question ya gotta ask yerself is: Where inna world did they get such an idea? All men are free? How can free men allow themselves to be ruled by others, most peculiarly by governments? Now how can that be, ya might ask? If y’er free men, how can anyone rule ya? They can’t. So what’s left to keep things from gettin? squirrelly on ya? Nuthin?. That’s right. Nuthin. Yer free to do whatever ya want any which way ya want. Til another free man stops ya from bein’ squirrelly, that is.
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Shut up, I’m a gettin? there! I just got inta the deep end of the swimmin’ hole. Lemme get my feet under me and look fer snappin’ turtles ‘fore you jump in with me, will ya? Don’t need you a losin’ any of yer limbs on me.
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Some of ya figger I’m a gettin’ on about anarchy. Well, I ain’t. I like the idea, but most folks idea of anarchy is takin’ advantage of each other. Now, historically, folks that was kinda loosely associated fer mutual benefits didn’t listen up to each other. Oh, they lived together and helped each other out, but when someone come along a wantin’ what they had, they’d didn’t get together and defend each other much. Lots of those kinds a folks ain’t around no more, either, life bein’ what it is, and folks a bein’ human. Ain’t any kinda anarchy worked fer long anywhere, anytime on this ol’ earth. That’s why we need rulers. It’s the only reason we need rulers over us as free men. So we can be a bit more co-ordinated in defendin’ ourselves and each other from folks that want what we have. Of course I’m over simplifyin’ here! I got time fer you to drink two cups of coffee to get my point across! Mebbe three or four if I get long-winded.
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When the ruler or rulers start takin’ advantage of the folks they’re a supposed to be defendin’, why I figger they ain’t free men anymore and they don’t want other folks to be free. Them rulers done give inta their worse nature. Folks ain’t free no more when they done that. Folks like that in charge of ya, you ain’t free no more, either. See, governments and rulers are a two edged sword. Now, I ain’t naive as alla that, either. Most folks that wanta be in charge are folks ya gotta watch kinda close, don’t matter who they are. As free men, if we wanta stay free, we gotta watch all of ‘em like they was foxes and we was watchin’ chickens inna hen house. We stop watchin’, the foxes get the chickens. Then it’s so much fer eggs, and freedom.
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Now to close this up kinda quick, and leave a lot of things a hangin’ out there danglin’ inna wind: What keeps folks from takin’ advantage of each other? Keep in mind that I can justify any kinda behavior I wanta, now. Doin’ that, I can buy myself a few politicos, a few judges and have ‘em all make rules that make me look good, and gimme all I want outta things to boot!
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The only thing that works to keep you, me, and the old lady next door truly free, is somethin’ called morality and ethics, just fer starters. If you ain’t got any, you ain’t free to begin with. Nobody around ya will be, either. Inna Book, which alla those fellers on the Fourth of July in 1776 had studied and believed in, it talks about free will. If God gave a man free will, and He won’t mess with it any, who are you or I to mess in it? If we have any morals at all, we won’t be after a harmin’ other folks, or a tryin’ in any ways to take anything they gots. We give the other feller freedom, and he gives us ours by both of us a lettin’ each other alone, unless the other feller wants ta be messed with.
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Bein’ human bein’s, we tend to go after hurtin’ each other oncet in awhile. That’s all what governments is for. To keep us from a hurtin’ each other, and to keep other governments from a tryin’ to take what we gots. Sounds like bein’ a little kid in some ways don’t it? Gotta have somebody a watchin’ over ya. That’s because as human bein’s we ain’t there yet. We ain’t got it in anyways right. And neither does the other feller. We’re all still a workin’ on it, ya see. That’s why we all need rulers and governments and such like. Just keep in mind that just ‘cause the other feller’s a ruler, a politician, a rich man, a celebrity, or a preacher or some such, don’t mean he has it right yet, either. That’s why ya gotta watch ‘em, ya see.
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Anyone who lacks morality and ethics is no fit person to be anybody’s ruler anywhere, anytime, anyplace. Tyrants rule by fear. That’s because they live in fear, for they fear that others will do to them what they have done to those that they rule.
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Yer a free man and a free woman on this earth. But if ya ain’t got any morals or ethics, and all things are relative, why ain’t none of ya free ta begin with. If all things are relative,if yer in charge, the other feller ain’t gonna be free, either. Not fer long, anyways.
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Well, if I didn’t make the point here, it ain’t fer lack of tryin’! This all ties in with everything we ever visited over, too, so pay attention here, now.
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It’s a new day! It’s a new opportunity to get ‘er all sorted out. We got another chance to get ‘er right. Make sure ya take advantage of it.
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Warm up yer coffee, ‘fore ya head out. Feller’s gotta get his eyes open some ‘fore he heads down the road. Well, ya are gonna go to the parades and have hotdogs and such, ain’t ya. Shoot, some places around here already started with the fireworks!

Warren “Bones” Bonesteel
“Morning Coffee”
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“It is the manners and spirit of a people
which preserve a republic in vigor.
A degeneracy in these is a canker which
soon eats to the heart of its laws
and constitution.”—Thomas Jefferson
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“The virtues of men are of more consequence to society
?than their abilities, and for this reason, the heart
should be cultivated with more assiduity than
?the head.” -Noah Webster